The Rochester Review, University of Rochester, Rochester, New York, USA

Letters To The Editor

The Review welcomes letters from readers and will print as many of them as space permits. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity. Unsigned letters cannot be used, but names of the writers may be withheld on request.

The Moveable (?) Classroom

This may seem to be a trivial matter, but as a loyal alumna (Class of '35) who majored in English, I was chagrined to note what I believe to be a spelling error in the Fall 1997 issue.

Unless the revered shade of "Uncle" Noah Webster has changed his mind, I believe the correct title of the article on page 12 is "The Movable Classroom."

Since I have reached "Golden Year" status, I have boldly decided to bring this matter to your kind attention!

Seriously, though, I believe in the nobility of our language, and deplore the tendency of the public press to erode acknowledged standards of usage. I don't mean to include your fine publication in this comment, but I think we should all try to avoid even minor errors, if possible.

Marion C. Glidden '35
Rochester

Right on, Ms. Glidden. We quite agree that our beautiful English language is a gift to be cherished and used with precision--if sometimes, admittedly, informally. And we appreciate the efforts of careful readers to save us from ourselves when we fail to do so. In this instance, however, we have to differ on what's acceptable: The spelling "moveable" is sanctioned by two of the three office dictionaries we consulted. We chose it as a reference to the Hemingway novel to suggest that perhaps a Rochester education is its own form of "A Moveable Feast."

Keep writing, Ms. Glidden, we need you--Editor.

Grella on Baseball

Concerning the piece written by George Grella in the Fall '97 issue ("The Church of Baseball"): I would like to remind Professor Grella about the reading course that I took with him and Joe Labell during the spring semester of '71. One of the requirements was time spent in front of the library tossing the ole baseball.

Jan Zuckerman '71
New York City

Professor Grella replies:
I'm sure that Jan Zuckerman remembers correctly; we were probably reading some baseball fiction, and playing catch made sense at the time. I still keep a glove and ball in my desk, however, should a game develop or should I be needed to lend my skills to some team; I used to play on some student softball teams in the intramural league. Anyway, any time someone wants to come over and play, give me a call.

George Grella
Rochester

Another Extended Rochester Family

After reading your piece on the Witmer family (with a long Rochester family connection) I just had to write to do some bragging of my own.

My grandfather, John Van Ostrand '26, met his bride, Ruth Wentz Van Ostrand '28, at Rochester, and so began a Van Ostrand­Rochester family tradition. Before they were officially engaged, he gave to Ruth her class ring, which bears the old seal--a ring she in turn gave to me when I decided to attend the University. (Ruth passed away in 1992 and I still wear and cherish the ring.)

John and Ruth had three sons: my father, James '51, and Andrew '63, '66W (Mas) and Robert '61. Andy went on to do graduate work at the University, and there met his wife, Janet Stone Van Ostrand '63.

Each of John and Ruth's three sons was later represented at Rochester by a daughter: myself, '89, Bob's daughter Chris, also '89, and Andy's daughter, Jennifer '91.

While at Rochester, Jennifer met her husband, Douglas Evans '91, '94S (MBA), and I met my husband, Lee Wagmeister '88 and '92M (MD). My twin brother, Eric (a Haverford graduate but we won't mention that), graduated from the medical school in '93, the same year his now wife (as of this past May), Juliette Luong, received her undergraduate degree from Rochester. She has just received her M.D. from you (or as we say down here--y'all) in May.

Chris is being married later this fall in Rochester, and Jennifer and Doug are expecting their first baby (a future alum?) in January. Eric finished his residency at the University of Pennsylvania in neurology in July and is now a junior faculty member while he does a fellowship in neuro-ophthalmology at Penn. Juliette is now a resident in pediatrics in Philadelphia.

Lee and I have two future alums of our own, Sarah (3 1/2) and Aaron (1 1/2). Lee finishes his residency in general surgery in June '98 and then we are moving to St. Louis, where he will do a two-year fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery beginning in July of '98.

My math isn't great, but I think that makes 13 of us now. John and Ruth were very fond of the University of Rochester--John was in the geology department for many years. Their fondness was infectious, and I for one am very proud and happy to be an alum. After all, if not for the University, I'd have never met Lee (nor would Andy, Jennifer, or Eric have met their spouses), and gee, John might never have met Ruth!

Kirsten Van Ostrand Wagmeister '89
Birmingham, Alabama

Talk about family unity! (For news about another such, see Alumni Relations.) We love to hear about our extended Rochester families. If yours is one of them, please write and let us know--Editor.

Setting Us Straight

I just got my most recent issue of Rochester Review, and I have to say that it looks great. Mostly because I am in it twice.

A brief correction, however. Jason Hammersla, whom you quote on page 15, is not--and never has been--news editor of the CT. He is currently managing editor, and I believe he was at the time the photo was taken.

Josh Rovner '97
Via e-mail

River Campus Musicians--Redux

I have delighted in reading Kit Crissey's reflections on the musical life of the River Campus during the '60s. As a member of various musical organizations (Orpheus Chorale for Freshman Men, Men's Glee Club, University Symphony, and not least of all, Steve Moshman's Baroque Ensemble), my memories of my years at Rochester are suffused with the extraordinary concerts: Berlioz Requiem, Brahms German Requiem, Bach B Minor Mass and Magnificat, etc., etc. Not the least of these was the opportunity to play the Double Concerto for Violin and Oboe with Karl Roth under Steve's direction.

The vagaries of double-reed making have taken their toll. Nevertheless, my connection with music-making remains strong: Two years ago I joined the Renaissance City Men's Choir, Pittsburgh's gay men's chorus. Although my undergraduate degree was in Russian linguistics, the world of music on the River Campus and at Eastman provided a powerful counterpoint to the academic activities.

William I. Cohen '67
Monroeville, Pennsylvania

Both the Review and Kit Crissey '66 have received enthusiastic responses to the chronicles of River Campus musicians that we have been publishing in recent issues. Crissey has now prepared notes on a couple of dozen more, which we hope eventually to print if and when space becomes available. If you would like an advance copy, let us know and we'll mail or fax you one. And if you have info to add on other former campus music makers, Crissey would like to hear from you: Harrington E. Crissey, Jr., 7439 Elizabeth Rd., Elkins Park, PA 19027.

In the meantime, here's an excerpt:
Stephen (Shih-Tung) Pan (baritone voice) was born in Fujien Province in China and served as a Chinese-English interpreter at the highest levels for the Chinese Nationalist and U.S. armies during World War II. He came to this country in 1954 at age 31 on a Methodist scholarship to Illinois Wesleyan University, where he garnered a B.M. degree. He earned an M.M. in voice literature (performance) from Eastman in 1977 and followed that up with a B.S. in math (1960) from night school at the River Campus while working full time as a computer programmer. Pan later received an M.S. in industrial statistics, again from night school. Retired from the computer field, he works as a top-level court interpreter in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, and confines his singing to solos in church.

Harrington Crissey '66
Elkins Park, Pennsylvania

Remembering Moses Garoeb

When I arrived last year in Namibia, I discovered that one of the most senior figures in government was a fellow alumnus, Moses Garoeb '67, minister of labor of the Republic of Namibia and former secretary general of the Southwest African Peoples Organization. It is my sad duty to report that Moses Garoeb died on September 19, 1997, following a protracted illness. A national day of mourning was declared on September 26, the day of the official memorial service.

Although I was not acquainted with Moses Garoeb during the two years that we overlapped at Rochester, we had the opportunity here in Windhoek to discuss our University experiences. It turned out that we shared many of the same friends among the African student population and studied under the same professors. Minister Garoeb looked back on his Rochester experience with a great deal of fondness.

Minister Garoeb was a leader in the struggle for Namibia's independence since 1959. In that year, as a high school student, he helped lead protests against the forcible expulsion of Windhoek's black population from their traditional settlement. Even before attending Rochester (he was a transfer student from Lincoln University), he helped state Namibia's case at the United Nations. Following his graduation, he spent many years in exile before Namibia's independence in 1990. His passing is greatly mourned by the senior leadership of Namibia, and, I am sure, by his friends from his days at Rochester.

George F. Ward, Jr. '65
Windhoek, Namibia
Ward is U.S. Ambassador to Namibia--Editor.

History Lives!

A number of sharp-eyed readers have pointed out that the Department of History seemed to have gone missing when a chart listing areas of learning in the College was prepared for the last issue of the magazine.

Not to worry. It was an editorial glitch, not the death of history, that accounted for the omission. In fact, as department chair Robert Westbrook points out, history is one of the more sizable majors in the College, with 68 seniors graduating as history majors at the last Commencement. For non-majors, the department offers a choice of 15 "clusters." (Three-course clusters, introduced as part of the new Rochester Curriculum, are series of related courses that students take outside of their fields of concentration to broaden and deepen their knowledge within all three of the major areas of learning--the humanities, the social sciences, and the natural sciences and engineering.)

Rochester Review congratulates the Department of History on its good health and apologizes for any fears it might have engendered concerning its demise.

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